Below is some information about old land divisions in Ireland that may be helpful in your research. In addition you may be interested in pursuing or purchasing the books or CDs listed below so I thought I would pass the information along. Maryann THE IMPORTANCE OF GEOGRAPHY in Irish Genealogy Irish-Americans hoping to establish the ancestral home of their immigrant ancestor must determine the name and location of his/her townland. The townland is the smallest land division in the country (the Ordnance Survey of 1846 identified 60,462 of them) and was named centuries ago in relation to a local landmark (e.g., mountain, bog, church, etc.). Irish records, on the other hand, are not organized by townland; instead they are divided among six other administrative (i.e., artificial) divisions: counties, baronies, civil parishes, dioceses, poor law unions, and probate districts. Brian Mitchell, author of A NEW GENEALOGICAL ATLAS OF IRELAND, has prepared succinct descriptions of these jurisdictions: COUNTY: "This division reflects the imposition of the English system of local government in Ireland. Begun in the 12th century, the thirty-two county framework was completed with the creation of County Wicklow in 1606." BARONY: "This is now an obsolete division, but in the 19th century it was widely used. There are 333 baronies, and they also tended to reflect the holdings of Irish clans. Baronies and counties became established in the government land surveys of the 17th century." CIVIL PARISH: "Beginning in the 17th century the so-called civil parish, based on the early Christian and medieval monastic and church settlements, was used extensively in various surveys. By the mid-19th century the pattern of civil parishes was well established. Civil parishes, numbering 2,509 in all [today], frequently break both barony and county boundaries, indicating they were drawn up at an earlier period." DIOCESE: "Three ecclesiastical synods--Cashel in 1101, Rathbreasail in 1111, and Kells in 1152--imposed a diocesan organization of four provinces: Armagh, Cashel, Dublin, and Tuam, each headed by an archbishop and under them twenty-one bishops in charge of as many dioceses. These diocesan boundaries have remained virtually constant to the present day and are in use by both the Catholic and Anglican Churches. The number of dioceses has, however, varied with consolidations through time by both the Catholic and Anglican Churches." POOR LAW UNION: "Under the Poor Relief Act, 1838, Ireland was divided into districts or 'unions' in which the local ratable inhabitants were to be financially responsible for the care of all paupers in their areas. By 1850, 163 unions had been created. The local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, adopted the poor law union as the basic administrative division in place of the civil parish and barony." PROBATE DISTRICT: "In 1858 a principal registry and eleven district registries were established for the purpose of proving wills and granting administrations." The Second Edition A NEW GENEALOGICAL ATLAS OF IRELAND addresses many of the issues created by the administrative divisions of Ireland's geography. Mr. Mitchell, who has arranged the ATLAS by Irish county, depicts in maps the relationship between the county and each of the following: civil parish, barony, and poor law union, as well by Roman Catholic parishes and Presbyterian congregations. It is a time-honored reference work of Irish genealogy. A vital companion to A NEW GENEALOGICAL ATLAS OF IRELAND is the sole publication to show the relationship of the townland to Ireland's major civil jurisdictions: the GENERAL ALPHABETICAL INDEX to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland, better known as the "Townland Index." Based on the Irish census of 1851, the 968 pages of charts in the Townland Index key every townland in Ireland--from Abartagh to Youngstown---to the corresponding county, barony, parish, and poor law union. The book also furnishes the sheet number of the Ordnance Survey Maps where each townland may be found. Reprinted with the permission of the National Library of Ireland, the Townland Index is now available in an attractive hardcover edition. In the next article you will find descriptions of A NEW GENEALOGICAL ATLAS OF IRELAND and the GENERAL ALPHABETICAL INDEX, along with several other standard reference works in Irish genealogy. If you are a wee bit Irish, and especially if you are tracking ancestors of the Irish Famine era, you can't go wrong with any of them. ===================================================== ST. PATRICK'S DAY SALE on Irish CDs & Books In commemoration of St. Patrick's Day, we've lowered the prices on 10 popular CDs or books by 25% or more. Any number of these titles could help you to nail down your Irish forebears--at least we hope so. Sale prices expire at 11:59 PM, EDT, on Monday, March 19, 2007. A NEW GENEALOGICAL ATLAS OF IRELAND. Second Edition This ATLAS, by Irish genealogist and geographer Brian Mitchell, is a key resource in Irish genealogical research. Why? Because successful genealogical research in Ireland depends on a knowledge of geography, and this ATLAS maps the six administrative divisions into which Irish records fall: counties, baronies, civil parishes, dioceses, poor law unions, and probate districts. For the Second Edition, Mr. Mitchell has added maps detailing the location of Roman Catholic parishes in all 32 counties of Ireland and Presbyterian congregations in the nine counties of Northern Ireland. Now, for the first time ever, this one volume contains a complete geographical picture of the major religious denominations in Ireland during the middle years of the 19th century. Was $20.00 Now $14.95 http://www.genealogical.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&item_number =3853 <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=utqsm6bab.0.u54cttbab.e9h6xun6.17790&ts=S0230&p =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genealogical.com%2Findex.php%3Fmain_page%3Dproduct_inf o%26item_number%3D3853> GENERAL ALPHABETICAL INDEX to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland, Based on the Census of Ireland for the Year 1851 Since research in Ireland usually starts at the parish level, there must be a reference tool that keys the townland to the parish in which it is located. The work described here was prepared under the auspices of the British government for almost that purpose. The 968 densely printed pages show the county, barony, parish, and poor law union in which the 70,000 townlands were situated in 1851, as well as the location of the townlands on the Great Ordnance Survey maps. Appendices contain separate indexes to parishes and baronies. Was $60.00 Now $44.95 http://www.genealogical.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&item_number =2962 <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=utqsm6bab.0.w54cttbab.e9h6xun6.17790&ts=S0230&p =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genealogical.com%2Findex.php%3Fmain_page%3Dproduct_inf o%26item_number%3D2962> TRACING YOUR IRISH ANCESTORS. Third Edition John Grenham's TRACING YOUR IRISH ANCESTORS is arguably the best book ever written on Irish genealogy. Not since Margaret Falley's "Irish and Scotch-Irish Ancestral Research," written in the early 1960s, has there been a book that combines all the best features of a textbook and a reference book. This work expertly describes the various steps in the research process while at the same time providing an indispensable body of source materials for immediate use. With its step-by-step instructions in the location and use of genealogical records, its discussion of civil records of birth, marriage, and death, along with land records and wills, and its list of Roman Catholic parish records and county source lists, it is easily the most useful book in Irish genealogy. Was $24.95 Now $16.95 http://www.genealogical.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&item_number =2385 <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=utqsm6bab.0.t54cttbab.e9h6xun6.17790&ts=S0230&p =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genealogical.com%2Findex.php%3Fmain_page%3Dproduct_inf o%26item_number%3D2385> AN INDEX TO GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND, 1848-1864 (CD) This CD is an index to the greatest of all Irish genealogical resources, Griffith's Valuation, or the Primary Valuation of Ireland. Carried out between 1848 and 1864 under the direction of Sir Richard Griffith, this survey of Ireland was intended to determine the amount of tax each person should pay towards the support of the poor within their poor law union. The Valuation is arranged by county, barony, poor law union, civil parish, and townland, and it lists every landholder and every householder in Ireland at that time---about 1.25 million people. Was $59.99 Now $44.99 http://www.genealogical.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&item_number =7188 <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=utqsm6bab.0.x54cttbab.e9h6xun6.17790&ts=S0230&p =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genealogical.com%2Findex.php%3Fmain_page%3Dproduct_inf o%26item_number%3D7188> IRISH SOURCE RECORDS (CD) Low in stock Irish genealogical source records have been prey to an astonishing amount of destruction, the most serious instance of which was a fire at the Public Record Office in Dublin in 1922, which destroyed virtually all pre-1901 census records, recorded wills, and Church of Ireland parish registers. Since then, reconstructing the lost records has been a passion of historians and genealogists alike, who have succeeded in patching together substitute records and bringing to light the various indexes, abstracts, and transcriptions of records that had been made before the fire. Many such records have been published by GPC and are included on this CD. Was $39.99 Now $29.99 http://www.genealogical.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&item_number =7275 <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=utqsm6bab.0.z54cttbab.e9h6xun6.17790&ts=S0230&p =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genealogical.com%2Findex.php%3Fmain_page%3Dproduct_inf o%26item_number%3D7275> SPECIAL REPORT ON SURNAMES IN IRELAND [Together with] Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames This is actually two works in one. Together, they are a valuable instrument for tracing Irish family origins. The first, the "Special Report," shows the areas in Ireland with which about 2,400 family names are most frequently associated. "Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames," the second report, is a 32-page list of 2,091 names and their variations as well as a separate key to the Registers' Districts and Unions in which the surnames are located. Was $25.00 Now $17.95 http://www.genealogical.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&item_number =3830 <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=utqsm6bab.0.954cttbab.e9h6xun6.17790&ts=S0230&p =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genealogical.com%2Findex.php%3Fmain_page%3Dproduct_inf o%26item_number%3D3830> THE IRISH AND ANGLO-IRISH LANDED GENTRY (Very low in stock) This work can be viewed as the "missing third volume" of John O'Hart's "Irish Pedigrees: The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation." It consists, in part, of 257 additional genealogies of Anglo-Irish and Anglo-Norman families that settled in Ireland following the English invasion. The huge Appendix consists largely of abstracts of primary sources that were destroyed in Dublin's Public Record Office fire of 1922. In all, this prodigious work contains more than 22,000 references to surnames found in the volume. Was $59.95 Now $39.95 http://www.genealogical.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&item_number =9367 <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=utqsm6bab.0.854cttbab.e9h6xun6.17790&ts=S0230&p =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genealogical.com%2Findex.php%3Fmain_page%3Dproduct_inf o%26item_number%3D9367> IRISH IMMIGRANTS TO NORTH AMERICA (CD) Low in stock This CD comprises 10 volumes of Irish passenger lists naming approximately 60,000 immigrants, the earliest list dating from 1735, the latest 1871. Originally published by GPC, the majority of these lists derive from homegrown Irish sources. This is what makes the CD so remarkable, because the Irish generally did not maintain emigration records. In fact, what information we do have on Irish immigrants comes almost entirely from American sources, and prior to the 1890s that information is woefully spare, usually limited to name, age, occupation, and sex (in accordance with the U.S. immigration laws of the time). Was $29.99 Now $19.99 http://www.genealogical.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&item_number =7257 <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=utqsm6bab.0.654cttbab.e9h6xun6.17790&ts=S0230&p =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genealogical.com%2Findex.php%3Fmain_page%3Dproduct_inf o%26item_number%3D7257> RICHARD GRIFFITH AND HIS VALUATIONS OF IRELAND This work is divided into two parts. The first part treats the history and method used by Griffith and his colleagues in producing the valuations. In the second half, the author burrows into the intricacies of the valuations, showing how an understanding of the abbreviations and shorthand used by the valuators can lead the researcher from the valuation to other Irish records and additional discoveries concerning one's ancestors. The rich appendices to the work include a glossary of key terms appearing in the valuations, among other things. Was $22.95 Now $16.95 http://www.genealogical.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&item_number =9371 <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=utqsm6bab.0.d8ssxxbab.e9h6xun6.17790&ts=S0230&p =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genealogical.com%2Findex.php%3Fmain_page%3Dproduct_inf o%26item_number%3D9371> TITHE APPLOTMENT BOOKS, 1823-1838 (CD) Along with Griffith's "Primary Valuation of Ireland," the most important body of Irish land records are the Tithe Applotment Books of 1823-1838. Preceding Griffith's by a full generation, this work names 200,000 Irish landholders--owners and tenants alike. Tithe surveys were undertaken to calculate the amount of tax payable by the landholders of Ireland for the upkeep of the Church of Ireland. Following the Composition Act of 1823, a valuation survey was carried out in every civil parish in Ireland to determine how much each landholder should pay. Over the ensuing 15 years, this survey listed all landholders in a given parish. Our CD identifies landholders by townland, size of holding, land quality, and types of crops. In all, 233 parishes are covered. Was $49.99 Now $34.95 http://www.genealogical.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&item_number =7262 <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=utqsm6bab.0.766yzybab.e9h6xun6.17790&ts=S0230&p =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genealogical.com%2Findex.php%3Fmain_page%3Dproduct_inf o%26item_number%3D7262> IRISH FLAX GROWERS LIST, 1796 (CD) The Flax Growers List of 1796 is known officially as the Spinning Wheel Premium Entitlement List, or more commonly the Flax Growers Bounty List. At various times, the government introduced special incentives to encourage the production of linen, usually giving away spinning wheels and looms. In 1796, the Irish Linen Board published a list of almost 60,000 individuals who had received awards for planting a specified acreage of flax. Those who had planted one acre were awarded four spinning wheels, and those planting five acres were awarded a loom. Arranged by civil parish in each county (except Dublin and Wicklow), the Flax Growers List contains the names of those individuals recognized by the Irish Linen Board as having planted specific acreages of flax. Was $29.99 Now $19.99 http://www.genealogical.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&item_number =7271 <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=utqsm6bab.0.666yzybab.e9h6xun6.17790&ts=S0230&p =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genealogical.com%2Findex.php%3Fmain_page%3Dproduct_inf o%26item_number%3D7271> To browse our entire list of Irish and Irish-American books and CDs, please access the link below: http://www.genealogical.com/index.php?main_page=products_country&country =Ireland/Irish <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=utqsm6bab.0.554cttbab.e9h6xun6.17790&ts=S0230&p =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genealogical.com%2Findex.php%3Fmain_page%3Dproducts_co untry%26country%3DIreland%2FIrish> =======================================================